You as a small YouTube channel are probably quite annoyed
that you don't have access
to some of YouTube's features right?
That could be about to change.
All of a sudden, tiny YouTube channels are
using Community posts which should be impossible.
So the question is how, let me show you.
(upbeat music)
This story is going to start in the YouTube Studio,
head on over to settings, go to channel,
then feature eligibility
and tell me if you see advanced features.
Depending on when you watch this video
you might not even see advanced features
because it's very new.
Even some of our channels still show the old settings
that have been around for years.
But then we see this post on YouTube support saying
that access to the Community tab is expanding,
and over the next couple of weeks, any channel
with access to advanced features will begin to have access
to the Community tab.
And that is the only explanation for how a channel
with just 30 subscribers and no content whatsoever
is suddenly able to publish Community posts.
So yeah, advanced features, keep an eye out for it
in the desktop YouTube Studio.
I have no idea what to do
if you're on a mobile phone.
But perhaps more importantly with that,
how do you unlock advanced features,
if you've only got 30 subscribers and no content?
Let's take a look.
Basically, there are three tiers of features,
standard, intermediate, and advanced,
each with their own requirements.
But, and here's a really exciting thing for small channels,
as far as I can tell,
there are no channel requirements whatsoever,
zero views, zero subscribers, that's fine.
The standard features of simply uploading videos
is available to all as you'd expect,
as long as a channel is free from Community strikes.
The intermediate tier is the same as verifying your account
which has always been an absolute must
so that you can upload custom thumbnails
among other vital publishing tools.
But then things start to get interesting in advance mode.
Upload more videos, shorts, live streams on a daily basis.
I wasn't even aware there was a cap
on uploading content but I guess there is now.
Posting external links in the description,
that's new to me as an advanced feature.
And critically, monetization all require
this advanced feature setting.
And the way to get it is a little big brothery.
So one option is to do a video verification
through your phone's camera.
I'm not actually doing that by the way,
I'm just looking at pictures of Jasper.
The overt, more extreme option in my opinion
is to upload a valid form of ID,
be it a passport or a driving license.
I dunno why I'm blurring this,
it is my Tim Hortons loyalty card.
So yeah, let us know in the comments below.
If you are a brand new channel starting today,
would you be willing to do video verification
or upload some form of ID
in order to unlock advanced YouTube features immediately?
If your answer is no,
then you probably just need to wait a couple of months.
Once YouTube has established enough channel history,
it will automatically unlock the advanced features,
which typically takes two months.
And that must be what's happening to loads of creators
at the moment who are taking to social media
to boast about suddenly having the Community tab
on their channel when they weren't expecting it.
Although it does seem a little weird
that Community posts themselves are not listed
in this advanced feature section,
but that's what everybody's unlocking, so, cool for us.
And I wonder if YouTube might add more features
to this advanced list in the future, stories anyone?
Now then, since tons of you have just unlocked
the Community tab, here's a crash course on how to use it.
Community posts work because they take up a lot of space
on the YouTube home feed
and they look different to videos.
So avoid using the video link option,
they get very little engagement.
Instead, use text, images and best of all, animated gifs.
I'm just going to say it,
voting polls seem to be overpowered.
Make sure you use it.
Picture polls on the other hand are even more overpowered,
especially when you have four options.
They fill the entire mobile screen.
Use them, somewhat unbelievably,
every single Community post includes a subscribe button,
and that appears on the home feed
every time someone sees one.
You can also track how many subs you gain
from Community posts in the YouTube Studio,
and specifically, which posts are new subs.
It's surprising how many people actually do,
when you just ask.
Remember that at the heart of this YouTube feature
is community, engage far more than you advertise.
Ask your audience questions.
Share behind the scenes moments.
Get them to vote
but don't just spam your audience video contents
because after all,
the YouTube home feed is already doing that.
And just like your YouTube channel, exercise patience,
take time to cultivate your Community tab.
Commit to posting at least once a day.
It'll only take five minutes.
And that's Community posts.
One YouTube feature you may have just unlocked
as a small YouTube channel.
But what if you wanted to know
how to unlock every single YouTube feature
there is in existence and what requirements you need?
Well, there's a video over here
and it's only six minutes long.